MOLECULAR

GASTRONOMY
Year 9 Science @ BSC
Audience and Unit Goals
Audience: Years 9 and 10
Unit Goals:
◦ Students will explore connections between science, design and technologies
through the lens of food innovation.
◦ Students experiment with molecular gastronomy techniques
◦ Students design an innovative food solution.

Source:
https://www.thegist.edu.au/educators/stem-lesson-plans/lessons-for-years-9-10/food-innovation-and-molecular-
gastronomy-lesson/
 Unit activities and projects
◦ Explorations:
◦ Students create a poster demonstrating their exploration of different food gastronomy techniques and the science
behind them
◦ Experiments:
◦ Gelification - Students explore gellifaction and investigate one way to use a gelling agent (agar) in a novel way to
make molecular agar spaghetti
◦ Spherification - Students explore spherification and investigate another way to use a gelling agent (alginate) in a
novel way to make molecular popping boba balls
◦ Assessment:
◦ Exploring spherification – Students explore effect of pH on shape of popping boba balls. Students use scientific
thinking.
◦ Extension:
◦ Design an innovative signature dish and exploring spherification further
Lessons:
◦ Lesson 1-2 - Introduction to Molecular Gastronomy
◦ Lesson 3-4 - Creating new food textures – gelification Lesson 5-6 -
Creating new food textures – spherification
◦ Lessons 7-8 - Assessment CAT: Exploring spherification -
Conducting experiment and collecting results
◦ Lessons 9-10 - Assessment CAT: Exploring spherification -
Write up scientific report in test conditions
Levels 9 and 10 Content Descriptions
◦ Science Understanding
◦ Science as a human endeavour
◦ Scientific understanding, including models and theories, are contestable and are refined over time through a
process of review by the scientific community (VCSSU114)
◦ Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments in technology and technological advances
are often linked to scientific discoveries (VCSSU115)
◦ The values and needs of contemporary society can influence the focus of scientific research (VCSSU116)

◦ Source: https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10#level=9-10
Levels 9 and 10 Content Descriptions
◦ Science Inquiry Skills
◦ Questioning and predicting
◦ Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically, including identification of
independent, dependent and controlled variables (VCSIS134)
◦ Planning and conducting
◦ Independently plan, select and use appropriate investigation types, including fieldwork and laboratory
experimentation, to collect reliable data, assess risk and address ethical issues associated with these
investigation types (VCSIS135)
◦ Select and use appropriate equipment and technologies to systematically collect and record accurate and
reliable data, and use repeat trials to improve accuracy, precision and reliability (VCSIS136)
◦ Source: https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10#level=9-10
Levels 9 and 10 Content Descriptions
◦ Science Inquiry Skills (cont)
◦ Recording and processing
◦ Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys, models and formulas, to record and summarise
data from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, to represent qualitative and quantitative patterns or
relationships, and distinguish between discrete and continuous data (VCSIS137)
◦ Analysing and evaluating
◦ Analyse patterns and trends in data, including describing relationships between variables, identifying inconsistencies in
data and sources of uncertainty, and drawing conclusions that are consistent with evidence (VCSIS138)
◦ Use knowledge of scientific concepts to evaluate investigation conclusions, including assessing the approaches used to
solve problems, critically analysing the validity of information obtained from primary and secondary sources,
suggesting possible alternative explanations and describing specific ways to improve the quality of data (VCSIS139)
◦ Communicating
◦ Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose, including constructing evidence-based
arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations (VCSIS140)
◦ Source: https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/science/curriculum/f-10#level=9-10
Terms and Concepts
◦ Molecular gastronomy ◦ Sodium citrate
◦ Spherification ◦ pH
◦ Gelification ◦ Neutral pH
◦ Chemical reaction ◦ Acidic pH
◦ Physical change ◦ Basic pH
◦ Solution
◦ Agar agar
◦ Alginate
◦ Sodium alginate
◦ Calcium chloride
LESSON #1-2
Introduction to Molecular Gastronomy
 Unit activities and projects
◦ Explorations:
◦ Students create a poster demonstrating their exploration of different food gastronomy techniques and the science
behind them
◦ Experiments:
◦ Gelification - Students investigate one way to use a gelling agent (agar) in a novel way to make molecular agar
spaghetti
◦ Spherification - Students explore spherification and investigate another way to use a gelling agent (alginate) in a
novel way to make molecular popping boba balls
◦ Assessment:
◦ Exploring spherification – Students explore effect of pH on shape of popping boba balls. Students use scientific
thinking.
◦ Extension:
◦ Design an innovative signature dish and exploring spherification further
Activity #1- Think pair share
◦ Consider the following “everyday” food products.
◦ Think: What might be the texture of each product? How were these textures
created? Was science involved?
◦ Pair: Talk with your table buddies what words you thought of.
◦ Share: What your group came up with rest of the class

Froth on coffee Soft serve Freeze dried fruit

 Activity #2: Cooking vs Science

◦ Construct a Venn diagram and use

it to discuss:
◦ How is cooking like science
◦ How is cooking different to
science?
◦ For science think chemistry,
physics, biology etc
Activity #3
◦ Now watch the following videos demonstrating various “molecular
gastronomy” food products.
◦ Think of the different and surprising textures of these products.
Liquid “popping boba” pearls

https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/popping-boba-diy-recipe/
Fruit agar spaghetti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nPMLNaBWNI&ab_channel=MOLECULE-R
 Transparent disappearing ravioli

Source: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/techniques/disappearing-transparent-raviolis/
Welcome to “Molecular Gastronomy”
Watch Video:
https://youtu.be/ErDkRerNKvQ

◦ Source: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/molecular-gastronomy/
 Molecular Gastronomy
Science or cooking?
◦ Definition: Molecular
gastronomy is a branch of food
science that focuses on the
physical and chemical processes
that arise when cooking.
◦ These processes and interactions
are explored and manipulated to
yield flavourful, functional, and
artistic results.
 Molecular Gastronomy
Science or cooking?
◦ In the words of Heston Blumenthal,
award winning chef and Molecular
Gastronomer,
◦ ‘Once there was just the knife if you wanted
to chop things.
◦ Then along came the food-processor. But
that was still cooking.
◦ Now I use other tools – centrifuges,
desiccators – which you might not associate
with the kitchen. But that’s cooking too.’
 Molecular gastronomy
Science or cooking? – it is both!
◦ Scientific techniques are used to create new and entirely experimental dishes.
 Molecular gastronomy
Inventors?
◦ The term “molecular gastronomy” was
coined as far back as 1988 by two Oxford
physicists.
◦ Prior to this there was no scientific
discipline prior studying the chemical
processes of cooking at home or in the
restaurants – as opposed to food
preparation for the mass market.
Molecular gastronomy
Examples?
◦ flaming sorbet that does not melt.
◦ ice-cream that stretches like bubble-
gum.
◦ instant noodles made by pouring cold
liquids into hot soups.
◦ architecturally scaled models out of
sugar with a 3-D printer!
◦ transparent spheres filled with any
liquid that are an explosion of
concentrated flavour with an
unexpected texture.
Molecular Gastronomy
Famous chefs?
◦ Many chefs around the world are
masters of molecular gastronomy:
◦ Heston Blumentahl’s Restaurant
"The Fat Duck
◦ The World’s Best Female Chef 2023
Elena Reygadas, Rosetta, Mexico City
◦ You may be interested to watch this
video about Moroccan chef Najat
Kaanache’s innovative approach to food
◦ Also consider sensory and consumer
scientist Dr Astrid Poelman’s role in
food innovation.
 Molecular gastronomy
science concepts?
◦ Molecular gastronomy studies:
◦ heat conduction
◦ convection and transfer
◦ physical aspects of food interaction
◦ stability of flavour
◦ solubility problems
◦ dispersion
◦ texture–flavour relationship.
 Molecular gastronomy
tools?
Molecular gastronomy tools:
◦ Liquid nitrogen
◦ Anti-griddle (chilled metal top),
◦ Water baths for low temperature cooking
◦ Food dehydrator
◦ Centrifuge
◦ Syringe, for injecting unexpected fillings
◦ Ultrasound
◦ Vacuum machine
◦ Pressure cookers
◦ pH meters
 Molecular gastronomy
techniques?
Molecular gastronomy techniques:
◦ dehydrating to change flavour and texture
◦ Spherification
◦ Gelification
◦ creating new food textures (gels, foams, glass-
like food)
◦ flash freezing using liquid nitrogen
◦ carbonating to make an ingredient effervescent.
 Molecular gastronomy
ingredients?
Molecular gastronomy ingredients:
◦ Gelling agents like methylcellulose
◦ Sugar substitutes
◦ Emulsifiers like soy lecithin and xanthan gum
◦ Non-stick agents
◦ Enzymes, for example transglutaminase – a protein
binder, also called meat glue
◦ Carbon dioxide, for adding bubbles and making foams
◦ Hydrocolloids such as starch, gelatin, pectin and
natural gums – used as thickening agents,
gelling agents, emulsifying agents and stabilizers,
sometimes needed for foams
 Molecular gastronomy
today?
◦ Today chefs are wielding liquid
nitrogen, pipettes, edible gels,
blowtorches, 3D printers, centrifuges
and an assortment of other equipment
you would usually expect to find in a
science laboratory!
◦ Chefs use this specialized equipment
and complicated techniques to push
the limits of taste, texture, and
perception.
Molecular Gastronomy Research Poster
◦ Explore different types of molecular gastronomy techniques.
◦ Choose one (or more) techniques that you find really interesting.
◦ Create a digital poster including the
◦ Science involved (include chemical reactions and equations)
◦ Ingredients
◦ Tools, and
◦ Technique/s.
◦ Make it colourful, include the science involved, pictures of ingredients, tools,
techniques, make it interesting for the reader.
◦ Try not to get hungry!